Well he is running full tilt, then stomps the bouncing ball dead to the ground while changing direction 120ish degrees and setting up his shot perfectly and finally hitting it right where the keeper can't get it.

It was pretty impressive. That is not why it is a big deal though. He hadn't scored in something like 6 months, and while the first goal got the monkey off his back, it was really just a tap in. This one he created. The pass by Bradley was really impressive, but it w as important for him to control the ball, and then make a pretty good move around the back and finally rifle that quick shot home.

As a soccer guy, thats one of the goals in soccer that looks easy and straight forward, but its impressive to the trained eye. Before I really started watching over sea's soccer, I would have thought the same thing. But after watching all the top goal scorers for the past decade, I've learned that many of the world stars make their name with goals like this. The world class scorers have an ability to control a long ball, take 1-2 quick touches past a defender, and set themselves up to blast one by the keeper. Its sublte, but it takes a special combination of speed, touch, and power that not many guys have. Jozy contains the physical combination, and Americans have been anxious see him put it all together.

I would consider it a 6.5/10 from a world class striker. But with his slump it was worth a 10/10 as it was a major confidence booster. He just made 1 cut and made a nice shot - but it doesn't matter how pretty they are - just that they put it in the back of the goal. It was a great day for his confidence.

I was more happy with his first touch (and the pass) as first touches are what often separates a goal from happening to not happening - Dempsey had some bad ones today.

I dot think you can see from this angle, but there was another US player making a run at the far post. The GK was probably trying to protect that side a bit, and Jozy just blasted it past the near side.

Those few seconds sum up why everyone is/was so excited about Jozy. There are players that can control a ball like that, players that can fend off defenders, and players that can shoot the ball that hard. HOWEVA, there are very few that can do all of them.

The problem is he could be the greatest striker in the world, but at the WC teams will just mark that guy out of the game. If you don't have secondary guys that can score and create, the team will struggle at the elite international level.

I am among the most casual of soccer fans, getting amped every 4 years for the World Cup and passively following my wife's hometown Nottingham Forest.

Anybody have a suggestion for the best (most interesting and knowledgable/credible) USMNT-focused blog? For someone who doesn't know much about the game, it's tough to know if what I'm reading is actually useful.